THE WARS OF THE JEWS

OR

THE HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM

Book II: Chapter 1

CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF SIXTY-NINE YEARS. FROM
THE DEATH OF HEROD TILL VESPASIAN WAS SENT TO SUBDUE
THE JEWS BY NERO

ARCHELAUS MAKES A FUNERAL FEAST FOR THE PEOPLE, ON
THE ACCOUNT OF HEROD. AFTER WHICH A GREAT TUMULT IS
RAISED BY THE MULTITUDE AND HE SENDS THE SOLDIERS OUT
UPON THEM, WHO DESTROY ABOUT THREE THOUSAND OF THEM.

1. NOW the necessity which Archelaus was under of
taking a journey to Rome was the occasion of new
disturbances; for when he had mourned forhis father
seven days, 1 and had given a very expensive funeral
feast to the multitude, (which custom is the occasion
of poverty to many of the Jews,because they are forced
to feast the multitude; for if any one omits it, he is
not esteemed a holy person,) he put on a white
garment, and went up to the temple, where the people
accosted him with various acclamations. He also spake
kindly to the multitude from an elevated seat and a
throne of gold, and returned them thanks for the zeal
they had shown about his fatherís funeral, and the
submission they had made to him, as if he were already
settled in the kingdom; but he told them withal, that
he would not at present take upon him either the
authority of a king, or the names thereto belonging,
until Caesar, who is made Lord of this whole affair by
the testament, confirm the succession; for that when
the soldiers would have set the diadem on his head at
Jericho, he would not accept of it; but that he would
make abundant requitals, not to the soldiers only, but
to the

people, for their alacrity and good-will to him,
when the superior lords [the Romans] should have given
him a complete title to the kingdom; for that it
should be his study to appear in all things better
than his father.

2. Upon this the multitude were pleased, and
presently made a trial ofwhat he intended, by asking
great things of him; for some made a clamor that he
would ease them in their taxes; others, that he would
take off the duties upon commodities; and some, that
he would loose those that were in prison; in all which
cases he answered readily to their satisfaction, in
order to get the good-will of the multitude; after
which he offered [the proper] sacrifices, and feasted
with his friends. And here it was that a great many of
those that desired innovations came in crowds towards
the evening, and began then to mourn on their own
account, when the public mourning for the king was
over. These lamented those that were put to death by
Herod, because they had cut down the golden eagle that
had been over the gate of the temple. Nor was this
mourning of a private nature, but the lamentations
were very great, the mourning solemn, and the weeping
such as was loudly heard all over the city, as being
for those men who had perished for the laws of their
country, and for the temple. They cried out that a
punishment ought to be inflicted for these men upon
those that were honored by Herod; and that, in the
first place, the man whom he had made high priest
should be deprived; and that it was fit to choose a
person of greater piety and purity than he was.

3. At these clamors Archelaus was provoked, but
restrained himself fromtaking vengeance on the
authors, on account of the haste he was in of going to
Rome, as fearing lest, upon his making war on the
multitude, such an action might detain him at home.
Accordingly, he made trial to quiet the innovators by
persuasion, rather than by force, and sent his general
in a private way to them, and by him exhorted them to
be quiet. But the seditious threw stones at him, and
drove him away, as he came into the temple, and before
he could say any thing to them. The like treatment
they showed to others, who came to them after him,
many of which were sent by Archelaus, in order to
reduce them to sobriety, and these answered still on
all occasions after a passionate manner; and it openly
appeared that they would not be quiet, if their
numbers were but considerable. And indeed, at the
feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and
is by the Jews called the Passover, and used to he
celebrated with a great number

of sacrifices, an innumerable multitude of the
people came out of the country to worship; some of
these stood in the temple bewailing the Rabbins [that
had been put to death], and procured their sustenance
by begging, in order to support their sedition. At
this Archclaus was aftrighted, and privately sent a
tribune, with his cohort of soldiers, upon them,
before the disease should spread over the whole
multitude, and gave orders that they should constrain
those that began the tumult, by force, to be quiet. At
these the whole multitude were irritated, and threw
stones at many of the soldiers, and killed them; but
the tribune fled away wounded, and had much ado to
escape so. After which they betook themselves to their
sacrifices, as if they had done no mischief; nor did
it appear to Archelaus that the multitude could be
restrained without bloodshed; so he sent his whole
army upon them, the footmen in great multitudes, by
the way of the city, and the horsemen by the way of
the plain, who, falling upon them on the sudden, as
they were offering their sacrifices, destroyed about
three thousand of them; but the rest of the multitude
were dispersed upon the adjoining mountains: these
were followed by Archelausís heralds, who commanded
every one to retire to their own homes, whither they
all went, and left the festival.